A free CFAES fact sheet gives suggestions for shoring up family finances, eating cheaply but well, and running a household efficiently—tips that can help all of us as we work our way through the coronavirus shutdown. Check it out. (Photo: Getty Images.)
At Home
Answering reporters’ coronavirus questions
CFAES’ Linda Saif, an international expert on coronaviruses and Distinguished University Professor, has been rightly extremely busy lately answering reporters’ questions, including “Can pigs catch COVID-19?” “Can pets get coronavirus from humans?” and “Can veterinarians prevent the next pandemic?”
You can learn more about Saif’s and her colleagues’ expertise on coronaviruses here, and if you’re a journalist and want to ask them questions, their contact information is there, too.
Saif gave a good backgrounder on coronavirus biology, genetics, and related matters in a recent webinar, which you can watch in the video above.
When might the drug-based cavalry be coming?
Toledo Blade journalist Tom Henry talked to CFAES scientist Linda Saif, among others, for a March 20 story titled “Cavalry isn’t here yet: Coronavirus-killing drugs are still being sought.”
Saif is a Distinguished University Professor with CFAES’ Food Animal Health Research Program, a member of Ohio State’s Infectious Diseases Institute, a co-director of the institute’s Viruses and Emerging Pathogens Program, and an international expert on several types of viruses including coronaviruses.
Something to do while you’re staying at home
The video above, by CFAES horticulture educator Pam Bennett, is seven years old, but the suggestions are still good today. Now’s the time of year to get your garden ready for spring, and, with Ohio’s coronavirus “stay at home” order about to begin, you might have some time for a good head start.
Bennett is also the program director of our state Master Gardener Volunteers program, and if you’re interested in joining and serving with the program at some point down the road, you can learn more about it here.
Food and coronavirus
File this one under “sustainability of human health.” CFAES’ Sanja Ilic and Tracy Turner answer the question, “Can your food get contaminated with coronavirus?”
Find out about event cancellations
Many of CFAES’ upcoming events have been cancelled or postponed due to the global coronavirus outbreak. Among them are the Sustainable Landscaping Workshop on March 18, the CFAES Sesquicentennial Open House on March 21, the Ohio Compost Operator Education Course on March 25-26, and the Ohio River Valley Woodland and Wildlife Workshop on March 28.
Find further details and updates on our event calendar, and if you’re not sure whether an event is still happening or not, be sure to contact the organizer ahead of time.
How to talk the environment with someone of either political stripe
By Alayna DeMartini, CFAES Advancement/Marketing and Communications
It seems intuitive: A social media post or an ad about an environmental issue written in a way that appeals to conservative values will likely persuade conservatives.
But more often than not, messages about environmental issues are framed to resonate primarily with liberal-leaning individuals, said Kristin Hurst, a postdoctoral research associate with CFAES’ School of Environment and Natural Resources.
March 17 EPN program to be held online
The March 17 breakfast program by the Environmental Professionals Network, “Exploring the Interactions between Water, Climate, and Communication,” has been changed from an in-person event to an online webinar in keeping with Ohio State’s response to the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak. Learn more, check out the great lineup of speakers, and register to participate here.
Registration for the webinar is free, but, alas, breakfast will be on you, at least metaphorically, hopefully.
Tonight: Hear from real-life ‘Dark Waters’ hero
The 2018 documentary The Devil We Know screens at 7 p.m. tonight, Tuesday, March 3, in Ohio State’s Environmental Film Series. The event’s website describes the film this way: “Lax oversight of industrial pollutants in West Virginia and corporate greed contributed to the death of cattle and cancer in people. A Cincinnati corporate attorney decided to help local residents.” That attorney, Rob Billott, will appear in person at the screening.
Billott’s memoir detailing the case, titled Exposure: Poisoned Water, Corporate Greed, and One Lawyer’s Twenty-Year Battle against Du Pont, inspired the 2019 major motion picture Dark Waters, which starred Mark Ruffalo as Billott.
Admission to the screening is free and open to the public. Get details.
New Wayne County farm-to-school project
The Wooster Science Café series features “Bringing the Bounty of Wayne County to Our Schools” tonight, Tuesday, March 3, from 7–8 p.m., presented by Shoshanah Inwood of CFAES’ School of Environment and Natural Resources.
Attendees will learn about a new farm-to-school project in Wayne County—Wooster and surrounding communities—that’s connecting local farmers and local schools.
Children are welcome to attend, and there’s a special interactive program for them from 6:30–7 p.m.